FIRST ALERT FORECAST: Record-setting day in terms of warmth

It has been a very warm, balmy Wednesday with highs in the mid 80s for many WAFB neighborhoods. That not only continues our current run of days in the 80s (and ties the eight straight day winter record), but today was a record setter in terms of the warmth for many locations too. In addition, if you’ve been tracking regional Doppler with us, you know that Wednesday was an active weather day to out west and northwest, with a tornado watch in effect through much of the day for portions of western and central Louisiana.

Fortunately, the stormy weather stayed out of the WAFB viewing area for the most part. It has been a windy Wednesday, with the area in and out of the clouds throughout the afternoon.

We will carry a few showers into the evening and late night forecast, but we are not anticipating any storms. Get set for another muggy night and early morning under partly to mostly cloudy skies, with many neighborhoods staying in the 70s throughout the night and into Thursday’s daybreak. Be ready for a little light, patchy fog for the morning start in the usual spots, but our forecast calls for a mainly dry morning commute.

The First Alert Forecast calls for highs once again to reach the low to mid 80s on Thursday. That will make a winter record-breaking nine consecutive days, and will include a 30 percent chance of mainly afternoon showers. We can’t rule out a rumble of thunder on Thursday afternoon, but strong storms are not anticipated. Thursday will be another windy day too, marked by mostly cloudy skies to sun/cloud mix through the day.

The WAFB forecast calls for more 80s on Friday and Saturday with better rain chances for both days. But the real weather action kicks in as we get into Sunday and Monday. Our next cold front gets into the region early Sunday morning and then stalls along the coast into the early part of next week. The forecast reads rain likely for both Sunday and Monday.

Rain totals for most of the area will come in under 0.5” through Saturday evening, but we may add as much as 1” to 2” in spots by Monday night. That's not enough to generate widespread flooding, but it could certainly create standing water issues in places.

Yet maybe the bigger change will be with temperatures. Our current First Alert Forecast indicates 80s for Saturday, but we expect the weekend front to stall south of the Red Stick for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. As a result, we should get a surge of cooler air from the north, even with the continued chance for rain. Our forecast for those three days has highs closer to 70° rather than the 80s. Our extended outlook keeps the front near the coast on Tuesday, but then backs it northward on Wednesday. Set rain chances for Tuesday and Wednesday at around 30 percent or so with temperatures returning to the upper 70s on Wednesday as the warm front lifts northward.